Rotary platform vehicle passenger loading system

ABSTRACT

A central stationary platform is surrounded by a rotatable annular platform and a vehicle guiding means surrounds at least a portion of the outside circumference of the rotating platform. Vehicles are guided into frictional engagement with an outside edge of the rotating platform in a manner that there is no relative motion between the vehicle and the rotating platform, thus permitting loading and unloading of people therefrom. In one embodiment, vehicles are boats and in another embodiment are passenger cars riding on rails.

Matted States Patent [191 Bacon Feb. 11, 11975 1 ROTARY PLATFORM VEHICLEPASSENGER LOADING SYSTEM [75] Inventor: Karl W. Bacon, Mountain View,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Arrow Development Co., llnc.,

Mountain View, Calif.

[22] Filed: Apr. 16, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 351,509

[52] US. Cl 104/20, 104/18, 104/73, 404/1 [51] llnl. Cl B61k l/00 [58]Field of Search 14/1; 104/20, 21, 73; 198/167; 214/42, 58; 272/29, 48;404/1 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 368,420 8/1887Pearsons 104/21 448,072 3/1891 Pickard 104/73 474,657 5/l892Hollingsworth.... 104/21 714,717 12/1902 Laporte 104/73 780,268 l/1905Curtiss 104/21 2,235,563 3/1941 Ridgway 104/73 3,339,494 9/1967 Lauber 1104/20 3,404,635 10/1968 Bacon 104/73 X 4/1973 Winkle 104/21 PrimaryExaminer-Nile C. Byers, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Limbitch, Limbach &Sutton [57] ABSTRACT A central stationary platform is surrounded by arotatable annular platform and a vehicle guiding means surrounds atleast a portion of the outside circumference of the rotating platform.Vehicles are guided into frictional engagement with an outside edge ofthe rotating platform in a manner that there is no relative motionbetween the vehicle and the rotating platform, thus permitting loadingand unloading of people there from. In one embodiment, vehicles areboats and in another embodiment are passenger cars riding on rails.

17 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED 3.865.041

sum 10F 4 PATENTEDFEBI 1 I975 sum u 0F 4 FIG.6

ROTARY PLATFORM VEHICLE PASSENGER LOADING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention relates generally to a vehicle passengerloading arrangement and more particularly relates to a structurepermitting passenger loading and unloading without having to stop thevehicles.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,494 Lauber (1967) describes a rotating railroadstation loading platform wherein a train track is positioned around aportion of the outside circumference of a rotating platform and adjacentthereto. The rotating platform surrounds a stationary center platform towhich passengers have access by a tunnel or an elevated walkway. Thetrains are disclosed to travel at the same speed as the outsidecircumferential surface of the rotating platform. Passengers are thenaccelerated to the speed of the train as they walk outward from thestationary platform to moving train cars.

The difficulty with the aforementioned Lauber patent is that no positivemeans is provided for assuring that the train cars are moving at exactlythe same speed as the outside circumference of the rotating platform. Asa result, there is a possibility of passenger inconvenience and injuryif the speeds of the rotating platform outside circumference andadjoining train cars are not exactly the same. U.S. Pat. Nos. 368,420,474,657 and 780,268 suggest mechanically connecting vehicles in theloading area to a rotating platform but their systems for accomplishingthis are awkward and complex.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providea rotating platform assembly that assures that adjacent vehicles aretraveling at the same speed as the outside circumference of the rotatingplatform with a simple mechanism that permits smooth engagement anddisengagement of the vehicle with the rotating platform.

It is a more general object of the present invention to provide avehicle guiding assembly about a portion of an outside circumference ofa rotating passenger loading platform that permits passenger loading andunloading with increased comfort and safety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and additional objectsare accomplished bythe various aspects of the present invention wherein a segment along thelength of a vehicle guide that is adjacent an outer circumferentialsegment of a rotating platform and the outer circumferential edge of therotating platform itself are provided with cooperating means forpositively holding a vehicle positioned in the guide segment to therotating platform outside edge by friction alone to prevent motiontherebetween. The positive attachment of the vehicle to the rotatingplatform outside edge assures convenient and safe passenger loading andunloading therefrom without the need for an expensive and fallibleelectronic control system to maintain the relative speed therebetween atzero.

Although a positive mechanical latching system may be provided betweenthe rotating platform and the vehicles, fabrication and operatingproblems to effect a smooth engagement and disengagement of the vehiclesfrom the rotating platform make it preferable to use a frictionalengagement. A frictional element such as an extruded rubber ring isprovided around the outside circumference of the loading platform. Thevehicle guide means urges the vehicle firmly against the loadingplatform in the loading area to establish frictional engagementtherewith. No other positive mechanical latching mechanism is required..By using only a frictional engagement, the mechanism is simple,reliable and has a further advantage of holding the vehicle firmlyagainst the rotating platform outside circumference. The vehicle thusdoes not move back and forth with respect to the loading platform in theloading area and there is no gap for a passenger to step over whenmoving between the vehicle and the rotating platform. Engagement anddisengagement of the vehicle to the loading platform as it enters andleaves the loading area is also very smooth with the frictionalengagement system of the present invention. The result is a convenient,safe and mechanically troublefree passenger loading arrangement whichcan handle very large numbers of passengers per unit of time.

In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the vehicles areboats and the guide means is a water trough with a loading segmentextending partially around the outer circumference of the rotatingplatform. The radially extreme wall of the water trough is reinforcedand positioned a distance from the outer circumferential edge of therotating platform so that a boat is squeezed tightly therebetween whenit moves into the loading area. Horizontally extending wheels areprovided on the radially extreme edge of the boat to contact thisoutside water channel wall and ride therealong. The radially inside edgeof the boat in the loading area thus contacts the outside circumferenceof the rotating platform. The rotating platform edge is preferablyprovided with a ring of soft, resilient material that is compressed whenthe boat is pressed thereagainst, thereby assuring positive frictionalengagement therewith. An appropriate motor is provided for the rotatingpassenger platform at a constant angular velocity which thereby movesboats through the loading area as well. I

In another embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle guidingmeans is a track arrangement which carries the weight of and guides themotion of a vehicle through the loading area around a portion of thecircumference of the rotating platform. The track portion of the loadingarea urges the vehicle against a resilient material ring attached to theoutside circumference of the rotating platform to establish'a frictionalengagement therebetween. In a specific example described hereinafter, anumber'of vehicles are linked together in a chain with one or morevehicles in a given coupled unit having a self-contained electric motor.The rotating platform in this embodiment need not be powered but isrotated by the cars themselves.

Many other types of vehicles and associated guide elements may also beutilized with the platform engagement technique of this invention, suchas automobiles riding on a roadway and guided by a single guide rail, asuspended vehicle and overhead. track structure, etc.

Additional objects, advantages and features of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following description of its preferredembodiments which should be taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of anoverall rotating platform passenger loading system embodiment accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the rotating platform and a vehicle takenacross section 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of an element of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 illustrates a frictional engagement between the vehicle and therotating platform of FIG. 2 taken across section 33 thereof;

FIG. 4 illustrates a variation in the embodiment of FIGS. l-3 in thesame general view thereof as FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention wherein atrack supported and guided vehicle is employed;

FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of an element of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 6 shows the wheel arrangement of the track supported vehicle ofFIG. 5 taken across section 6-6 thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring initially to FIG. 1,a rotating passenger platform 11 surrounds a stationary platform 13. Thepassengers walk to and from the stationary platform 13 over a bridge 15having stairs at, each end. A passenger loading vehicle guide segment 17surrounds the outer circumference of the rotating platform 11 in acircular arc between positions 17a and 17b. In the embodiment of FIG. 1,the vehicle guide 17 is a trough for containing a water flow in whichboats, such as the boat 19, float. A vehicle guide water trough portion21 leads into the loading segment 17 and a vehicle guiding water trough23 leads away from the loading segment 17. The water trough segments 17,21 and 23 are portions of a continuous loop amusement ride, in aspecific application of the various aspects of the present invention, inwhich paying passengers are loaded into and out of the boats for theride from the loading platform 11. The rotary platform 11 has theadvantage that a passengers linear velocity increases gradually as hewalks radially outward on the platform 11 toward a boat. Such a rotatingplatform can handle a very large number of passengers per unit time witha reduced number of attendants as compared with conventional techniqueswhere the vehicles such as boats are stopped at a stationary loadingdock.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the rotating loading platform 11 has acircular structural beam 25 on its underside which in turn is supportedagainst gravity by a plurality of rollers such as the roller 27 that issupported by a mechanism 29. A motor source 31 ofa convenient type suchas an electric motor rotatably drives a driving wheel 33 whichfrictionally engages the inside surface of the beam 25 to rotate theplatform 11 at substantially a constant angular velocity about a centerof rotation 35.

The outside circumference of the rotating platform 11 has fixedlyattached thereto a bumper 37 for contacting the boats such as the boat19 in the loading area of the boat guiding water trough segment 17. Thebumper 37 is attached as a ring complete around the extreme outside ofthe rotating platform 11 at a fixed radius from the center of rotation35 by an annular attaching element 39. A radially inward wall 41 of thewater trough segment 17 extends in the loading area a fixed radiusfromthe center of rotation 35, that radius being less than the radialdistance of the bumper 37 from the center of rotation 35. The bumper 3thus extends outward over water 43 within the trough 17 of the loadingsegment. A radially outward wall 45 also has a center of curvature inthe loading vehicle guide segment 17 at the axis 35. Each of the boatsis substantially identical in construction as illustrated with therepresentative boat 19 in FIGS. 2 and 3. A pair of wheels 47 and 49 onthe radially outward side of the boat 19 intermittently contacts onewall of the water trough throughout the ride so that the boat followsthe path of the water trough. A pair of wheels 51 and 53 are provided onthe opposite side of the boat 19 for intermittently contacting theopposite wall of the water trough to serve a boat guiding functionthroughout the ride. Each of the guide wheels 47, 49, 51 and 53 arerotatably attached to the boat body to rotate about a vertical axis withrespect thereto.

In the region of the boat loading segment 17 of the boat guiding trough,the inward wheels 51 and 53 serve no function in guiding the boat,since, as shown in FIG. 2, they ride under the bumper 37. That side ofthe boat 19 rides against the bumper 37. The opposite set of wheels 47and 49, however, rideagainst the extreme outer edge 45 of the watertrough in the loading seg ment 17. The differences in radii of theextreme edge of the bumper 37 and the curvature of the outer wall 45 ismade to be slightly less than the distance between a bumper contactingsurface 55 of the boat 19 and the outer periphery of the guiding wheels47 and 49. The result is that the boat 19 is urged tightly against thebumper 37 by the wheels 47 and 49 which are pressing against the outercircular wall 45. Therefore, the outer circular wall 45 is structurallyreinforced in an appropriate manner in order to withstand these forcesas the boats are pressed thereagainst in the passenger loading troughsegment 17.

FIG. 2A shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the bumper 37 showinga hollow region 37a. As the boats such as the boat 19 are pressedagainst the bumper 37, the opening 37a collapses and a strong frictionalbond between the boat and the bumper 37 occurs. The bumper 37 ispreferably made of a resilient material, such as an extruded rubber, sothat the boat surface 55 may be pushed thereinto by the force of itsouter wheels 47 and 49 riding along the fixed outer circular trough wall45. In order to increase the frictional attachment between the boat andthe bumper 37, the boat 19 has an inwardly curving side section formingits contacting surface 55. The contacting surface 55 has a radius ofcurvature between its extreme portions 55a and 55b substantially thesame as that of the bumper 37, as shown in FIG. 3. The surface 55 thuspushes against the bumper 37 and compresses it in order to form a strongfrictional bond therewith. The boat 19, as well as any other boats inthe loading water through segment 17, are driven by the rotatingplatform 11.

In the loading region, the water 43 is also moving in the direction ofthe travel of the boats and helps carry them along. The frictionalengagement of the boats with the rotating platform 11, however, assuresthat the boats have no relative speed with respect to the plat form 11.In the rest of the ride, such as in the incoming and outgoing watertrough segments 21 and 23, the moving water is the sole source of boatmotive power. Alternatively, the boats may be self propelled and/or maybe linked together. In any case, the boats are urged against theplatform bumper for engagement therewith in the loading area.

It will be noted that the frictional engagement technique for a boatloading area as illustrated in FIGS. l-3 has the advantage that when aboat reaches the point 17b where the loading area begins, it smoothlyengages the bumper 37. Similarly, when the boat is about to leave theloading area at the point 17a, the boat smoothly disengages from thebumper 37. Abrupt passenger jarring motions of the boats are thusavoided as well as preventing sudden excessive loads to the motor powerof the rotating platform 11.

Another advantage of the bumper/boat engagement technique illustrated inFIGS. 1-3 is that the frictional engagement between the boat surface 55and the bumper 37 also supports the boat vertically when passengers aregetting into and out of the boat. Such stability is a great convenienceto passengers. On the opposite side of the boat, wheels 47 and 49 maynot provide the necessary frictional force to prevent tipping of theboat downward into the water as the passenger load increases suddenly.Therefore, a supporting ledge 61 is provided in the loading troughsegment 17 firmly attached to the outer wall 45 thereof at a position tobe below the top surface of the water 43. When the load in the boat I9increases suddenly, the boat tips until its wheels 47 and 49 aredepressed into the water and contact the supporting protrusion 61. Thecombination of the firm rest 61 for the boat within the loading area andits tight frictional engagement against the bumper 37 gives the boat 19very good stability against dropping vertically and rolling in the facechanging passenger loads during loading and unloading thereof.

Referring to FIG. 4, a modification of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 isillustrated in the form of a modifled version of the FIG. 2 trough andboat. A boat 63 contains, in addition to the structure described abovewith respect to the boat 19, four vertical supporting wheels in thebottom thereof, including wheels 65 and 67 shown in the view of FIG. 4.These four wheels are held to rotate about a fixed horizontal axis forsupporting the boat 63 in the loading area against vertical and rollingmovement as people get into and out of the boat. A pair of tracks 69 and71 as shown in FIG. 4 are added, in this variation, to the water troughloading segment 17 of FIG. 1. Everywhere else in the ride the boat 63floats on the water, but in the loading area, the tracks 69 and 71 areprovided to hold the boat firmly against rolling in the water as peopleget into and out of the boat from the loading platform 11.

FIGS. 5, 5A and 6 show another embodiment of the passagenger loadingstation as used with a train of rail riding cars that are linkedtogether and self-powered. A rotating platform 11' is supported in asimilar manner to the boat embodiment described above, except that therotary platform is not powered. There is no motor directly operating onthe passenger platform 11 but rather it is rotated from the motive powerin the rail cars themselves. Each of the cars includes a passengercompartment 73 which holds several people. The passenger compartment 73is supported by a post assembly 75 on wheels which ride on a pair oftracks 77 and 79. Each of the tracks 79 and 77 is circular incross-section as shown in FIG. 5, and further is curved in a horizontalplane to have a constant radius about an axis of rotation of therotating platform, the circular rail segment forming the passengerloading segment. Rails are connected to either end of the curvedpassenger loading segment for leading cars into and out of the passengerloading segment. A bumper 81 is provided on the outside circumference ofthe loading platform 11 and has a constant radius with respect to theaxis of rotation of the platform 11 that lies intermediate of the radiiof the two tracks 77 and 79.

Each of the rail cars is supported by four wheels 83, 85, 87 and 89,each of these wheels not requiring a flange. The wheels 83-89 are fixedto each of the rail cars for rotation about a horizontal axis that isparallel to the plane of the tracks 77 and 79 which is alsosubstantially parallel with the top surface of the passenger loadingplatform 11'. The wheels 83-89 are carried by axle assembles 91and 93,these axle assemblies being pinned to a body support assembly 95 forrotation therewith when the car travels'over curved track sec tions. Thepost which holds the passenger compartment 73 is carried by the mainbody support member 95.

- In a specific example, about one out of ten cars in a linked train ofcars has its own power source. An electric motor 97 is shown in FIG. 5with operable coupling to one pair of wheels. The view of FIG. 6 doesnot show this motor and represents an axle and wheel assembly which issubstantially common to both those cars which are powered and thosewhich are not.

Since the supporting wheels' 83-89 are not flanged and especially sincethe rails are circular in crosssection, some means are required to holdthe train cars on the tracks. Each of the wheels 83-89 has associatedtherewith a pair of guide wheels which are held to the car in a mannerto rotate about an axis that is substantially vertical; that is, torotate about an axis that is orthogonal to the axis of rotation of theload supporting wheels. For instance, the load supporting wheel 83 hasassociated therewith such an adjacent pair of guide wheels 99 and 101.The guide wheels 99 and 101 are placed on either side of the wheel 83along the track 77 and on the inside surface thereof.

The bumper 81 is ofa resilient material and is provided with an opening81a in its middle as shown in FIG. 5A. The radii of the track 77 and 79with respect to the axis of rotation of the passenger platform 11 areadjusted so that the post 75 of each car compresses the resilient bumper81. The inside edge of the post 75 that contacts the bumper 81 thustravels in a path about the rotary platform axis of rotation that has aradius slightly less than the outside radius of the bumper 81 in anoncompressed state. The support post 75 of each rail car thusfrictionally engages the bumper 81 and additionally temporarily forms adepression therein for tight engagement therewith. As the car leaves theloading area and disengages with the platform, the resilient nature ofthe bumper eliminates the groove. In a given train situation, there willbe a number of posts 75 that contact the bumper 81 at any one time atdifferent positions around the bumper. Power is thus transferred from aplurality of coupled rail cars to the rotary platform 11'. Thefrictional engaging force at each car required against the bumper insuch a multiple car train situation is thus reduced.

Many of the aspects of the present invention can also be applied to apassenger platform that travels linearly rather than in a circular path.Vehicles may be frictionally coupled to a bumper on the edge of aplatform moving in a straight line just as they are to a bumper on theoutside of a rotary platform. However, the rotary platform is preferredbecause of its capability of handling more passengers per unit of timeand additionally it is safer and more convenient.

Although a few specific examples of the various aspects of the presentinvention have been described in detail above, it will be understoodthat the invention is entitled to protection within the full scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. A passenger loading station for passenger carrying vehicles,comprising:

an annular passenger platform rotatable about a fixed axis and having aresilient compressible bumper attached thereto around its outsidecircumferential edge,

a fixed circular vehicle guide segment positioned around the outside ofa portion of the platform circumference and guide portions leadingtoward and away from said circular guide segment, and

means for urging said vehicles against said platform bumper in a mannerthat the frictional engagement of the vehicle with the bumper preventsrelative movement therebetween when a vehicle is in said circular guidesegment.

2. A passenger loading station and vehicle, comprisa movable passengerplatform having a bumper attached to one edge thereof,

at least one passenger carrying vehicle,

a fixed segment cooperatively constructed with said vehicle to guidesaid vehicle along the bumper carrying edge of said movable passengerplatform, and transition guide portions leading toward and away fromsaid segment, and

means as part of said vehicle and said guide segment for urging saidvehicle tightly against said bumper in a manner to provide onlyfrictional engagement therebetween for causing the platform and vehicleswithin said segment to move without relative velocity therebetween.

3. The passenger loading station ofclaim 2 which additionally includes amotor as part of a passenger platform assembly for moving the passengerplatform at substantially a uniform speed.

4. A passenger loading station of claim 3 wherein said at least onevehicle is a boat and said guide segment and transition guide portionsinclude a continuous water carrying trough with upright sides forguiding the path of boats traveling therealong.

5. The passenger loading station of claim 4 wherein said boat vehiclecontain a roller means for cooperating with the side ofthe water channelof the guide segment that is furthest removed from the moving platform,the distance from the moving platform bumper to said furthest removedchannel edge and the dimensions of the boat cooperating so that the boattightly engages said bumper as said rollers roll along said oppositesidewall of said water channel.

6. The passenger loading station of claim 2 wherein said at least onevehicle includes a source of motor power while the platform has nosource of motor power, whereby the movement of said vehicle in saidguide segment causes movement of said passenger platform withoutrelative velocity with said vehicle.

7. The passenger loading station of claim 2 wherein said bumper includesan elongated strip of resilient material that normally has a smoothoutside surface that is depressed upon contact with said vehicle withinsaid guide segment.

8. A passenger loading station and cooperating vehicle, comprising:

an annular passenger platform rotatable about a fixed axis and having aresilient bumper attached to its outside circumferential edge a firstradius from the axis of rotation,

a fixed water channel segment extending in a circular path around theoutside of a portion of the platform circumference and water channelportions leading toward and away from said circular segment, said waterchannel segment including two sides with an extreme side located asecond radius from said axis, and

at least one passenger carrying boat having at least a portion of oneside inwardly curving with a radius of curvature substantially equal tosaid first radius.

said boat additionally having rollers extending from an opposite side ofsaid boat and pivotally mounted thereon in a manner that the dimensionbetween the extremity of said wheels and said curved portion is slightlyless than the difference between said first and second radii, wherebysaid boat firmly pushes against and compresses said bumper along thecurved side region of contact therewith.

9. The passenger loading station of claim 8 which additionally comprisesan inward extension within said water channel attached to said waterchannel extreme side and positioned at an elevation for supporting aweight of the boat under a loaded condition, whereby the boat isstabilized against extreme tipping during passenger loading andunloading.

10-. The passenger loading station of claim 8 wherein said boat includesat least one wheel pivotally mounted on the bottom thereof forsupporting the boat weight, and wherein said water channel segmentincludes at least one track upon which the boat bottom wheel rides whenthe boat is in the loading area, whereby the boat is stabilized forpassenger loading and unloading.

11. A passenger loading station and cooperating vehicle, comprising:

an annular passenger platform rotatable about a fixed axis and having aresilient bumper attached to its outside circumferential edge a firstradial distance from the axis of rotation, said rotatable platform nothaving its own internal source of power,

a fixed pair of rails extending in a circularpath segment around theoutside of a portion of the platform circumference and rail portionsleading to ward and away from the circular rail segment, said pair ofrails in the circular segment having second and third radial distancesfrom said axis of rotation, said rails additionally being substantiallycircular in cross-section, and

at least one self-powered passenger carrying rail car having a pluralityof load supporting wheels attached to the bottom thereof rotatable aboutaxes that are parallel to a plane of said pair of rails for riding onthe tops of said rails and having a plurality of stabilizing wheelsrotatable about axes substantially perpendicular to said rail plane forriding on the inside surfaces of said rails, said rail car additionallyhaving a surface positioned above said wheels for contacting saidresilient bumper, said first, second and third radial distances beingpositioned relative to the bumper contacting surface of the car toprovide tight engagement of said bumper contacting surface with saidbumper when the car is in the passenger loading area.

12. A station for loading passengers into at least one vehicle,comprising:

a platform in the shape ofa circle held to be rotatable about an axis atthe center of the circle,

a resilient compressible bumper attached completely around the outsidecircumference of said platform and having a cross-sectional shape thatis normally uniform therearound, and

means fixed with respect to said axis for guiding said vehicle in a pathsegment that is a portion of a circle having a center of curvaturecoincident with said axis and a radius such that when in said pathsegment said vehicle is firmly urged against and compresses a portion ofsaid bumper contacted by said vehicle, thereby to cause a vehicletraveling along said path segment to be rotatably fixed to saidplatform.

13. The passenger loading station of claim 12 which additionallyincludes a motor coupled to the passenger platform assembly for movingthe passenger platform at substantially a uniform speed.

14. A passenger loading station of claim 13 wherein said at least onevehicle is a boat and said guiding means include a continuous watercarrying trough with upright sides for guiding the path of boatstraveling therealong.

15. The passenger loading station of claim 12 wherein said at least onevehicle includes a source of motor power while the platform has nosource of motor power, whereby the movement of said vehicle in saidguiding path causes movement of said passenger platform without relativevelocity withsaid vehicle.

16. The passenger loading station of claim 15 wherein said guiding pathincludes a pair of rails upon which said vehicle is adapted to travel. I

17. A passenger loading station and cooperating vehicle, comprising:

an annular passenger platform rotatable about a fixed axis and having aresilient bumper attached to its outside circumferential edge a firstradial distance from the axis of rotation, said rotatable platform nothaving its own internal source of power,

a fixed pair of rails extending in a circular path segment around theoutside of a portion of the platform circumference, said segment being aportion ofa longer rail path, said pair of rails in the circular segmenthaving second and third radii of curvature with respect to said axis ofrotation, and

at least one self-powered passengercarrying rail car having a pluralityof load supporting wheels attached to the bottom thereof for riding onthe tops of said rails and having means to maintain said wheels on therails against lateral forces on the vehicle, said rail car additionallyhaving a surface positioned above said wheels for contacting saidresilient bumper, said first, second and third radial distances beingpositioned relative to the bumper contacting surface of the car toprovide tight engagement of said bumper contacting surface with saidbumper when the car is in said circular path segment.

UNITED STATES PATENT oTTTcE CERTIFICATE CF CURRECHCN Patent NO. 59 59Dated February 11, 1975 r UT Inventor(s) kar'l Bacon It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 4, line 1, "bumper 3 should read bumper 37 Column 9, line '7, thewords having an outside circumference should be added after the word"platform" Column 9, line 7 the word and should be added before the word"circle".

Column 9, line 8 the word "the" should be deleted and the word a shouldbe inserted before the word "center" fligncd and graded this Arrest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Attesling Officer ('mnmissimur uj'lalwlmand Trademarks ORM PC4050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 u.5. GOVERNMENTmm'rmc OFFICE: a 69 93 O

1. A passenger loading station for passenger carrying vehicles,comprising: an annular passenger platform rotatable about a fixed axisand having a resilient compressible bumper attached thereto around itsoutside circumferential edge, a fixed circular vehicle guide segmentpositioned around the outside of a portion of the platform circumferenceand guide portions leading toward and away from said circular guidesegment, and means for urging said vehicles against said platform bumperin a manner that the frictional engagement of the vehicle with thebumper prevents relative movement therebetween when a vehicle is in saidcircular guide segment.
 2. A passenger loading station and vehicle,comprising: a movable passenger platform having a bumper attached to oneedge thereof, at least one passenger carrying vehicle, a fixed segmentcooperatively constructed with said vehicle to guide said vehicle alongthe bumper carrying edge of said movable passenger platform, andtransition guide portions leading toward and away from said segment, andmeans as part of said vehicle and said guide segment for urging saidvehicle tightly against said bumper in a manner to provide onlyfrictional engagement therebetween for causing the platform and vehicleswithin said segment to move without relative velocity therebetween. 3.The passenger loading station of claim 2 which additionally includes amotor as part of a passenger platform assembly for moving the passengerplatform at substantially a uniform speed.
 4. A passenger loadingstation of claim 3 wherein saId at least one vehicle is a boat and saidguide segment and transition guide portions include a continuous watercarrying trough with upright sides for guiding the path of boatstraveling therealong.
 5. The passenger loading station of claim 4wherein said boat vehicle contain a roller means for cooperating withthe side of the water channel of the guide segment that is furthestremoved from the moving platform, the distance from the moving platformbumper to said furthest removed channel edge and the dimensions of theboat cooperating so that the boat tightly engages said bumper as saidrollers roll along said opposite sidewall of said water channel.
 6. Thepassenger loading station of claim 2 wherein said at least one vehicleincludes a source of motor power while the platform has no source ofmotor power, whereby the movement of said vehicle in said guide segmentcauses movement of said passenger platform without relative velocitywith said vehicle.
 7. The passenger loading station of claim 2 whereinsaid bumper includes an elongated strip of resilient material thatnormally has a smooth outside surface that is depressed upon contactwith said vehicle within said guide segment.
 8. A passenger loadingstation and cooperating vehicle, comprising: an annular passengerplatform rotatable about a fixed axis and having a resilient bumperattached to its outside circumferential edge a first radius from theaxis of rotation, a fixed water channel segment extending in a circularpath around the outside of a portion of the platform circumference andwater channel portions leading toward and away from said circularsegment, said water channel segment including two sides with an extremeside located a second radius from said axis, and at least one passengercarrying boat having at least a portion of one side inwardly curvingwith a radius of curvature substantially equal to said first radius,said boat additionally having rollers extending from an opposite side ofsaid boat and pivotally mounted thereon in a manner that the dimensionbetween the extremity of said wheels and said curved portion is slightlyless than the difference between said first and second radii, wherebysaid boat firmly pushes against and compresses said bumper along thecurved side region of contact therewith.
 9. The passenger loadingstation of claim 8 which additionally comprises an inward extensionwithin said water channel attached to said water channel extreme sideand positioned at an elevation for supporting a weight of the boat undera loaded condition, whereby the boat is stabilized against extremetipping during passenger loading and unloading.
 10. The passengerloading station of claim 8 wherein said boat includes at least one wheelpivotally mounted on the bottom thereof for supporting the boat weight,and wherein said water channel segment includes at least one track uponwhich the boat bottom wheel rides when the boat is in the loading area,whereby the boat is stabilized for passenger loading and unloading. 11.A passenger loading station and cooperating vehicle, comprising: anannular passenger platform rotatable about a fixed axis and having aresilient bumper attached to its outside circumferential edge a firstradial distance from the axis of rotation, said rotatable platform nothaving its own internal source of power, a fixed pair of rails extendingin a circular path segment around the outside of a portion of theplatform circumference and rail portions leading toward and away fromthe circular rail segment, said pair of rails in the circular segmenthaving second and third radial distances from said axis of rotation,said rails additionally being substantially circular in cross-section,and at least one self-powered passenger carrying rail car having aplurality of load supporting wheels attached to the bottom thereofrotatable about axes that are parallel to a plane of said pair of railsfor riding on the tops of said rails and having a Plurality ofstabilizing wheels rotatable about axes substantially perpendicular tosaid rail plane for riding on the inside surfaces of said rails, saidrail car additionally having a surface positioned above said wheels forcontacting said resilient bumper, said first, second and third radialdistances being positioned relative to the bumper contacting surface ofthe car to provide tight engagement of said bumper contacting surfacewith said bumper when the car is in the passenger loading area.
 12. Astation for loading passengers into at least one vehicle, comprising: aplatform in the shape of a circle held to be rotatable about an axis atthe center of the circle, a resilient compressible bumper attachedcompletely around the outside circumference of said platform and havinga cross-sectional shape that is normally uniform therearound, and meansfixed with respect to said axis for guiding said vehicle in a pathsegment that is a portion of a circle having a center of curvaturecoincident with said axis and a radius such that when in said pathsegment said vehicle is firmly urged against and compresses a portion ofsaid bumper contacted by said vehicle, thereby to cause a vehicletraveling along said path segment to be rotatably fixed to saidplatform.
 13. The passenger loading station of claim 12 whichadditionally includes a motor coupled to the passenger platform assemblyfor moving the passenger platform at substantially a uniform speed. 14.A passenger loading station of claim 13 wherein said at least onevehicle is a boat and said guiding means include a continuous watercarrying trough with upright sides for guiding the path of boatstraveling therealong.
 15. The passenger loading station of claim 12wherein said at least one vehicle includes a source of motor power whilethe platform has no source of motor power, whereby the movement of saidvehicle in said guiding path causes movement of said passenger platformwithout relative velocity with said vehicle.
 16. The passenger loadingstation of claim 15 wherein said guiding path includes a pair of railsupon which said vehicle is adapted to travel.
 17. A passenger loadingstation and cooperating vehicle, comprising: an annular passengerplatform rotatable about a fixed axis and having a resilient bumperattached to its outside circumferential edge a first radial distancefrom the axis of rotation, said rotatable platform not having its owninternal source of power, a fixed pair of rails extending in a circularpath segment around the outside of a portion of the platformcircumference, said segment being a portion of a longer rail path, saidpair of rails in the circular segment having second and third radii ofcurvature with respect to said axis of rotation, and at least oneself-powered passenger carrying rail car having a plurality of loadsupporting wheels attached to the bottom thereof for riding on the topsof said rails and having means to maintain said wheels on the railsagainst lateral forces on the vehicle, said rail car additionally havinga surface positioned above said wheels for contacting said resilientbumper, said first, second and third radial distances being positionedrelative to the bumper contacting surface of the car to provide tightengagement of said bumper contacting surface with said bumper when thecar is in said circular path segment.